Iran military chief warns US of 'devastating' response to any attack

President Donald Trump on Saturday defended the US war with Iran after Democrats blamed him for the deaths of two American service members killed in an Iranian attack.

Speaking to the New York Post as the US launched retaliatory strikes against Iran, Trump compared the casualties to deaths in previous US wars and said the attack showed “how bad” Iran was.

“Have you ever asked how many people died in Vietnam? Have you ever asked how many people died in Afghanistan in one day? In one day — run by Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump told the New York Post.

Former Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran has the capability to carry out a ground operation against the US and seize one of its military bases in Iraq, Kuwait or Bahrain.

Mottaki, who is now a Tehran representative in Iran’s parliament, made the remarks on state television, saying the capture of a base and 200 US personnel could force Washington to halt its military campaign.

Iran adapted its missile attacks to challenge US defenses, using weapons that travel at extremely high speeds and can maneuver during descent, US officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The officials said Iran’s ability to strike sensitive targets has raised concerns as Tehran continues carrying out attacks against US positions in the region.

The US launched new airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, targeting what US Central Command said were capabilities used to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps forces accused of attacking American service members in Jordan.

CENTCOM said the strikes were ordered by President Donald Trump and began at 6 p.m. ET.

US President Donald Trump said the deaths of two US service members killed in Iranian attacks were “very sad,” while adding that Washington would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

In his first reaction to the announcement, Trump told NewsNation on Saturday that he “couldn’t care less” about Iran saying it was no longer following the Memorandum of Understanding.